The new “Richmond District” print from the designers at The GRQP
A few months ago, The GRQP created original prints depicting several San Francisco neighborhoods. For each one they chose a specific animal to represent the area.
They chose pigeons for the Tenderloin (“A band of back alley pigeons. In real life they’re dirty, but on your wall they’re so fresh and so clean”), a burro for the Mission (“This guy here just filled up on one too many from the Tamale Lady, and is heading to Dolores Park for a siesta.”), and fittingly, a peacock for the Castro (“a fabulous peacock struts its stuff in front of the Castro Theater”).
They’ve designed original prints for twenty different San Francisco neighborhoods so far, including Golden Gate Park (a bison of course!) and the Presidio. Each one is $30 for a 13×16 inch print, or $15 for 8×10 inch.
So naturally, I asked when they would be coming out with a Richmond District print. I was curious what animal they would choose to represent this western edge of town. A raccoon? Nope, that was used for the Presidio. A Chinese lion dancer? Hmm, probably better left to Chinatown.
The answer is… a bear. “You guys have Little Russia in your neighborhood and a bear is a national personification of Russia,” GRQP told me over Twitter.
It’s not your typical, fierce bear. Ours is relaxing against a lamp post on Geary near 36th Avenue. Maybe he’s waiting for drivers or MUNI riders to throw him a snack. Or he’s slowly making his way to Ocean Beach or Lands End. Either way, he looks chill enough to make it in this foggy neighborhood.
I’m not sure a bear is THE animal I would have picked to represent the Richmond District. Maybe a seal, in homage to the Cliff House and Seal Rock, would have been a better choice. But I still like him and his friendly demeanor.
What do you think? Do you think the bear is a good choice or is there another animal you think better represents the Richmond District?
Sarah B.
Seal/sealion would have been a good choice. Maybe a panda to incorporate both the bear and the large Chinese population? Pretty cool bear, though!
I was hoping we’d get one of these, because I really like them.
But I don’t love this. Why couldn’t we have a different animal? The Richmond is a lot more than Little Russia. Plus, as a proud Inner Richmondite, I wish they’d chosen a different avenue – there doesn’t seem to be much going on here – Clement Street, Cliff House or even a little lower on Geary would be more exciting to look at.
Not sure what my alternate animal would be… Maybe one of the ducks/geese that hang out in Mountain Lake Park? Or a whale/dolphin from out by the beach?
a seal would have been much better. or even a seagull.
A coot for Mountain Lake park!
I have to side with the designer here. To me it looks like the bear is relaxed, he isn’t caught up in the hustle and bustle of downtown, he’s just chillin, which totally matches my lifestyle in the Richmond. And that composition is dope. Also, I think the Seal/Sealion idea would be better for South Beach or Fisherman’s Wharf, definitely not Richmond. I don’t know, I kinda like this print.
How about one of those huge crows that hang in the Avenues.
im thinking that the artist is artists are probably going to save the sealions/seals for fishermen’s wharf/pier39. I think big crows would’ve represented better, and that you did ‘have to be in the know’ of the Richmond to understand it.
I too have to side with the artist. The bear is awesome. Sure they picked it for Little Russia, but its also an icon of California. And in thinking about the neighborhoods in the city The Richmond kinda symbolizes the state itself. It has a lot of diversity, is very relaxed and chill like he california attitude, it has hustle and bustle (its minimal but its there), but also has a lot of parks and landscape to it. A seagull is just an uncool animal in general, and the seal / sea lion is an obvious choice for Fisherman’s Warf.
I don’t think the bear is waiting for a bus, take note he’s on the middle road divider. I think the bear is actually working undercover for the Richmond SFPD, cracking down on motorists who don’t stop for pedestrians crossing. Or in this case, bear crossing. – Can we get a Bear Crossing Sign put up on that intersection to commemorate this lovely piece of art? It will probably do a better job in slowing down motorists & put a smile on their faces too! 🙂
@Rico – Ha! A bear crossing sign would be really funny. Most people would be like WTF is that?!?!? 🙂
Yes, yes! A bear-crossing sign would be awesome :).
@Admin – That’s what I was also thinking, and in disbelief motorists will probably slow down anyways.. hahaha! It could be the 1st Bear Crossing sign put up in SF ever! Like Mel said, that would be Awesome!
I agree with Danno. When I saw the bear, the first thing that came to mind was “California” not “Russia”. California is a pretty cool association for the Richmond district.
Maybe the bear should be holding a Guinness and a takeout box of Dim Sum?
They sound like young and oblivious SF neophyte “designers” that didn’t give much thought (let alone research) into the history and character of each neighborhood beyond the stereotype or two that one can glean from reading the ignorant missionmission blog or absurd 7×7.
I’d be surprised how many neighborhoods these kids have actually visited before depicting them.
Michelle,
The designers could have easily offered a white screen and called it the blanket of fog that is the Richmond. How about being slightly less critical and admiring the talented design that is made in an incredibly challenging medium (photoshop)? There you have it. Fog. Not stereotype. Fact. You should be proud you got upgraded to a bear, after all, the designer could have been honest and more accurate, saved a lot of time, and merely offered a primer-filled canvas.
Well said Mike. 🙂
Nice looking bear, kinda floating just above the pavement, Zen-like. My architectural education taught me the method of casting shadows when drawing buildings; I have never tried it for bears but I get the feeling he’d do well with a bigger shadow.
On the subject of fog, what’s that big round yellow thing? (It’s a motif for all the prints; not exactly the sun as the shadow of the lamppost is from by a source over our right shoulder).
I don’t get it. If the artist was going to select an ethnic group to represent, wouldn’t it have made more sense to choose an animal representative of the significant Asian population here in the Richmond? This kind of reminds of the Barbara Walters question: If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Don’t think it’s a bear for the Richmond. Seagulls/pigeons/sea lions…they make sense. Maybe a Chinese dragon. Or, perhaps, like JL said, a panda.
Mike, I work in photoshop everyday, and I’m personally not impressed by the technique or the concept development behind this pet project.
Why should I be “proud” of a way someone peddling posters portrays the part of the city I happen to live in? I couldn’t care less about being aligned or identified with a SF neighborhood stereotype. And bah on your fog comment – it’s as uninspired as the bear on the poster you’re going to buy.
(No offense to you, Mike, your comment was light-hearted. It’s the poster and the ilk that conceives them I dislike.)
Agree with crow supporters. Yes, there are Russians in the Richmond but they do not come to mind first, and a bear calls to mind California, not Russia. Too bad. Love my ‘hood but would not display this graphic.
1. A panda or a dragon? Really folks? When I think of the chinese population in San Francisco, I associate that with The Sunset more, or gee, whats that other place called? oh yeah, CHINATOWN.
2. Michelle, I don’t know WHAT Your problem is with the designers. You’re sweeping generalizations are more un-San Franciscan than how you perceive this design to be. In all honesty, since you work in photoshop all the time, I want to see what you would come up with. You actually haven’t even mentioned an alternative to the Bear, you’ve just shat all over the artist.
3. While there may be a larger chinese population here, it IS a fact that The Richmond is known for its Russian population. Anyone describing neighborhoods to will always mention the Russian population in the Richmond.
As part of the challenge of picking an animal, The Richmond was probably one of the harder neighborhoods. As a design, I’d dig it without the bear, HOWEVER that wasn’t part of the project. I think it’d have been worse if the designer said “Well, no one will agree with what I choose to pick, so I’m just gonna have a picture of the street”.
As a note, I dont care how you choose to represent this city as in your artwork, but its that you DO choose to represent this city. I love the pride and passion around neighborhoods and community here and love all the expression that comes from it.
There’s a “Little Russia” out here?? I hear Russian and Cantonese and Toi Shan and Mandarin and Korean and Vietnamese and Burmese and Spanish on the bus all the time, but less Russian than the Asian languages.
As for the poster, perhaps a raven or even a red tailed hawk would have been preferable to a bear lolling about in the middle of the road.
I guess the bear is okay lol – not what I feel the Richmond is all about, but still… hard to choose one animal
Russian culture is very march a part of the Richmond District and Northern California as a whole. I live in the Central Richmond which is also home to “Little Russia.” This region is designated from about 14th Ave to 26th, the latter, the location of the Holy Virgin Cathedral.
Trekking up and down this portion of Geary the sounds of Russian and Cantonese equally waft to your ears. You will also notice about half the shops serve primarily Russian clientele or offer Russian/Eastern European products. My favorite is Royal Market and Bakery. However, there are also the Europa Plus market, New World Market, Torgsyn pharmacy, and Moscow and Tbilisi Bakery to name a few. This cultural infusion along with Chinese, Irish, Albanian, and the many others are why I love my neighborhood.
Although I don’t think of The Richmond as bear country and the Russian bear’s avenue placement seems a bit far west to characterize “Little Russia,” it is very much a happy-go-lucky bear that likely hangs out with The Richmond crows.
If I could choose an animal to represent the Richmond district it’d have to be Murphy from the Pet Corner! You can actually visit and rub his belly when he stretches out on the floor!
https://richmondsfblog.com/?s=murphy+pet+corner
Bear in mind (heehee)… animals were probably in short supply after being used to depict the other San Francisco districts & various cultures. While some may have been obvious & others were not as much, I think a bear was a good choice to represent our Russian Neighbors.
* Just an added note. I like the fact that you can see “Little Russia” labeled on google maps, although it’s more well known as The Richmond District. 🙂
I think the artist priorities on the overall project was to represent San Francisco’s cultural diversity, unless there was a stronger iconic animal that would better represent the neighborhood. In our case, a bear was used /w some personality traits of the general feel of our neighborhood & what it is like to live in this beautiful part of the city! 🙂
I like the bear and that our Russian population is represented! I agree with Rico T. that the artist’s aim was likely to represent San Francisco’s cultural diversity, and to my knowledge no other neighborhoods in the City have a Little Russia. A nod to the Richmond’s Irish-American history might have been interesting too, though maybe not as well known.
On an added note, that looks like a Malayan Sun Bear in the print?
The old timers tell me that the neighborhood was primarily Russian and Irish when they were growing up. Plus that Bear just looks awesome. I love how relaxed he is. He’s relaxing in the fog and he’s waiting for someone to reopen the Alexandria.
I like the bear and the scene chosen. Much of what you see when in our hood are scenes like this. We’re chill, wide streets (telephone poles and all) and filled with relaxed people who hang out very chill. We’re also a good representation for California as well as the only concentration of Little Russia (no where else in SF unlike Chinatown and Chinatown II).
They’re Ravens, not Crows!
We have crows and ravens; and depending on size and beak shape, they are either crows or ravens. Both are of the genus corvus. Both species are highly intelligent and have complex social behavior. Although ravens get a better “rap” than crows, the latter is just as awesome, especially if you have ever observed them. Neither species should be confused with the great-tailed grackle, but often called crows. This species is not of the genus corvus.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Corvus_brachyrhynchos.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Corvus_corax.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/03/HOR21N0EFK.DTL
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Quiscalus_mexicanus.html
I didn’t make the Russian connection – not until I read the artist’s intention. Chalk it up to ignorance on my part. Also, take note that China’s Giant Panda is also known as the “Panda Bear” in some circles, so that takes care of the Chinese angle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda
The Ohlone Indians, native to the Bay Area, has medicine men who could “transform” into Grizzly Bears. btw, Grizzly’s once roamed the Bay Area area in prolific numbers.
That said, the bear in this design is very cute and compelling. Frankly, I would like to see a T-Shirt sold with this design. It would be fun. Also, there’s even a play on words possible with the bear. Geary St. could be renamed “Beary” St. Anyone want to start a petition? 🙂
All that said, In deference to *my* forebears* haha, I humbly offer up this bear design as a buddy to our official Richmond Bear. Take a look:
http://www.cafepress.com/+100_italian_boysragazzi_teddy_bear,367418227
The bear is cute and all, but I would never in a million years associate it with the Richmond.
It would’ve been nice for the designers to hold a contest/get input from the public before choosing the animal — they’d probably end up selling more of them in the end too. Cool idea, poor execution.
I love that bear. I would also offer up a raccoon, since they seem to go through our trash and terrorize our dogs. Also been known to see a skunk or two in the neighborhood, but probably best that they did not go that direction. A Coyote would have been cool since they like to hang out at land’s end. But of all those options, I will admit that I like the bear.
the skunk idea is perfect. our avenues are main thoroughfares for those little guys to get from park to presidio. who here hasn’t smelled them walking around so often it’s reminiscent of home at this point? the bear is awesome, but that skunk idea is far more apropos.